Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (8/387)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

And in the second version:

“Do you find among you anyone from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?”

Then, concerning the third generation, it is said:

“Is there anyone among you who has seen [someone who has seen] (1) the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace?” * (2)

It is evident that if (3) the ruling concerning someone who kept company with a Companion depends (4) on having seen him (5), then this applies all the more to someone who kept company with the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

In al-Bukhārī’s wording, “kept company with” is used in every instance. If (6) all these expressions are the actual words of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then they explicitly establish the point at issue. If, however, he used only some of them, and a narrator such as Abū Saʿīd conveyed their meaning rather than their exact wording, this shows that the two expressions had the same meaning in their understanding. They knew best the meanings of what they heard from the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Furthermore, if the Prophet’s wording—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was (saw), then the point is established. If his wording was “kept company with” concerning one or more generations, and he did not mean seeing, then he would not have made his intention clear. For companionship is a generic term with no defined limit in either religious law or language, and customary usage varies.

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—neither qualified companionship with any restriction nor specified its extent. Rather, he made (7) the ruling depend on companionship in its unqualified sense, and that unqualified sense is nothing other than seeing him.

(1) Man ra’ā (someone who has seen) is omitted from (n) and (s). (2) The text between the two asterisks is omitted from (m). (3) n, m, s: annahu kāna (that it was). (4) m: muta‘alliqan (dependent). (5) n: bi-al-riwāya (on narration). (6) n: wa-in (and if). (7) s: bi-qadrin law ‘allaqa (to a specified extent, if he made [the ruling] contingent …); b: bi-qadrin wa-‘allaqa (to a specified extent, and he made [the ruling] contingent …).

وَفِي الرِّوَايَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ: " «هَلْ تَجِدُونَ فِيكُمْ أَحَدًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -؟ * ثُمَّ يُقَالُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ: " هَلْ فِيكُمْ مَنْ رَأَى [مَنْ رَأَى] (١) أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ» -. * (٢) وَمَعْلُومٌ إِنْ كَانَ (٣) الْحُكْمُ لِصَاحِبِ الصَّاحِبِ مُعَلَّقًا (٤) بِالرُّؤْيَةِ (٥) ؛ فَفِي الَّذِي صَحِبَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - بِطَرِيقِ الْأَوْلَى وَالْأَحْرَى. وَلَفْظُ الْبُخَارِيِّ قَالَ فِيهَا كُلِّهَا: " صَحِبَ " وَهَذِهِ الْأَلْفَاظُ إِنْ (٦) كَانَتْ كُلُّهَا مِنْ أَلْفَاظِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - فَهِيَ نَصٌّ فِي الْمَسْأَلَةِ؛ وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ قَالَ بَعْضَهَا وَالرَّاوِي مِثْلُ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ يَرْوِي اللَّفْظَ بِالْمَعْنَى؛ فَقَدْ دَلَّ عَلَى أَنَّ مَعْنَى أَحَدِ اللَّفْظَيْنِ عِنْدَهُمْ هُوَ مَعْنَى الْآخَرِ، وَهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَعَانِي مَا سَمِعُوهُ مِنْ كَلَامِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -. وَأَيْضًا فَإِنْ كَانَ لَفْظُ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - (رَأَى) فَقَدْ حَصَلَ الْمَقْصُودُ وَإِنْ كَانَ لَفْظُهُ " صَحِبَ " فِي طَبَقَةٍ أَوْ طَبَقَاتٍ؛ فَإِنْ لَمْ يُرِدْ بِهِ الرُّؤْيَةَ لَمْ يَكُنْ قَدْ بَيَّنَ مُرَادَهُ؛ فَإِنَّ الصُّحْبَةَ اسْمُ جِنْسٍ لَيْسَ لَهَا حَدٌّ فِي الشَّرْعِ وَلَا فِي اللُّغَةِ، وَالْعُرْفُ فِيهَا مُخْتَلِفٌ. وَالنَّبِيُّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - لَمْ يُقَيِّدِ الصُّحْبَةَ بِقَيْدٍ وَلَا قَدَّرَهَا بِقَدْرٍ؛ بَلْ عَلَّقَ (٧) الْحُكْمَ بِمُطْلَقِهَا، وَلَا مُطْلَقَ لَهَا إِلَّا الرُّؤْيَةُ.

(١) مَنْ رَأْى: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (س) . (٢) مَا بَيْنَ النَّجْمَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (م) . (٣) ن، م، س: أَنَّهُ كَانَ (٤) م: مُتَعَلِّقًا. (٥) ن: بِالرِّوَايَةِ (٦) ن: وَإِنْ (٧) س: بِقَدْرٍ لَوْ عَلَّقَ:. .، ب: بِقَدْرٍ وَعَلَّقَ. .